Stone cutter



T. SIDERITS STONE CUTTER Jan. 30, 19 '1 Filed June 4, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor. T hamas Exclerrts Fittnrneusf T. SIDERITS STbNE CUTTER Jan. 30, 1940.

Filed June 4, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Invent :11".

Thnmas Exclerrts Patented Jan. 30, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STONE, CUTTER Thomas Siderits, Milwaukee, is." Application June 4, 1938, Serial No. 211,132

4 Claims. (01.12548 8 Ihis invention .appertains to a novel machine for cutting or splitting stone into blocks or slabs of desired, sizes.

. One of the primary objects of my invention is to. provide a stone cutting machine, which will be rapid in action, and in which. the stone will be positively severed into the desired sizes without showing any mechanicaledges or artificial cuts or saw marks.

tion of the grooves.

Another object of. my invention is the provision of independent meansf1rst, for rapidly vibrating or reciprocating thechisels through pneumatic means, and, second, means. for forcing the groups of oppositely disposed chisels toward one another, through hydraulic means.

A further important object of my invention is to provide a trip-hammer mechanism,whereby the upper head with its chisels can be made to deliver a sharpv forcible blow to thestone after the grooves have. been out therein, and the chisels are held against the stone by hydraulic pressure for cracking or splitting large, pieces of stone along said grooves, regardless of the contour of the stone surface.

which drawings:

Figured is a front elevation of my improved machine, with parts thereof broken away and in section to illustrate structural details.

Figure'Z is a vertical sectional view through the machine, taken substantially on theline 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the arrows.

direction of. the

Figure3 is an enlarged, detail sectional view taken through the head or upper block substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, but looking at right angles thereto, and showing the hydraulic or equivalent means brought into play for forcing the chisels firmly against .the stone.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the severalviews, the letter M generally indicates my improved machine for cutting andsplitting stone, and, as shown, the same includes a pair of spaced parallel upright standards or posts 5 and 6. The lower terminals of the posts or standards canbe provided with any preferred type of feet I, which can be bolted directly to a floor, bed or base. The upper ends of the posts are securely fastened to a cross-beam 8, which braces the posts.

Securely fastened to the posts 5 and 6 is a transversely extending anvil or lower block 9. As illustrated, this anvil or lower block 9 rests upon collars In or annularv enlargements formed on or secured to the posts. Arranged in facing relation to the anvil or lower block 9 is. an upper movable head or block I l. The oppositeends of the head or upper block H are provided with vertical ways l2, which receive the posts, and thus the head or block is slidably mounted on: the posts, whereby stone of varying thickness can be inserted and split between the upper and lower, blocks. The frame of the machine can carry siderails l3, and these rails can, in turn, support rollers M by means of which stone can be supplied between the blocks. Means is also provided for limiting the downward movement oi the upper block ll relative'to the lower block 9, so that mechanism carried by said blocks will not bedamaged.

Also slidably mounted upon the. posts. 5 and 6 is a transversely extending hammer I5, and this hammer is adapted to be raised'and then dropped, so that a sharp and forcible impact can be transmitted through the upper block H to the stone, as will be set forth later. Any desired means can be provided for elevating the hammer I5, and in the present instance I have shown a hoist: rope or cable It connected to the hammer. This cable or rope is trained over a pulley I'i connected to the cross-beam 8. Obviously, the cable could lead to a suitable windlassand by releasing, the cable the hammer could be allowed to rapidly fall. If desired, however, a trip 18 of. any desired construction can be utilized for holding the. hamiii mer in an elevated position,- and the trip could be released in any desired manner. As shown, the trip I8 takes the nature of a pawl pivoted, as at [9, to a bracket 20 on the post 6. A pull rope 2| is utilized for moving the pawl out of its operative position relative to the hammer.

The lower block 9 carries a plurality of independently movable chisels 22, while the upper block ll carries a plurality of independently movable chisels23. The chisels22 and 23 are of a similar character, and the chisels each include shanks 24 slidably mounted in bores 25 and 26 formed respectively, in the lower block 9 and the upper head I l.

tongues 2! formed on holding plates 28, which are securely bolted to the opposite Sides of the lower and upper blocks 9 and l I. These-plates retain the chisels 22 and 23 in positionand still allow the rapid movement of the chisels.

. The chisels are of such a character as to operate efficiently on stone, and thus the chisels taper to a pointededge, and the pointed edges can be provided with teeth. Obviously, by having the i this purpose, and for the purpose of illustration,

I have shown pneumatic means for vibrating or reciprocating the chisels.

Thus, the bores 25 and 26 formed in the lower and upper heads have reciprocally mounted therein air pistons 29. Any preferred means is provided for reciprocating the pistons by air, as is well known in the art. However, as shown, the outer ends of the pistons are reduced in diameter, as at 30, and the boreshave communicating therewith adjacent their lower ends, air inlets 3 I.

When a piston 29 is in its lowered position, its air inlet 3| is partly uncovered by the reduced portion of the piston. The opposite end of each bore is provided with an exhaust port 32. The

- bores also have the inner ends of their walls provided with air channels or grooves 33; When a piston is in its extreme lowered position, air is permitted to escape from above the piston through the inner exhaust port 32, and the air under the reduced portion of the piston will move the piston to the inner end of the bore. As the piston moves in, the channel 33 will be uncovered, and the air flowing through the channel will act on the inner face of the piston and drive the same down into engagement with its chisel. This movement is continued as long as pressure is admitted into the channel 3|. Pressure can be derived for all of the chisels from a common point,

and thus the air can beeasily controlled to all of the chisels simultaneously. I

For the purpose of illustration, I have shown an air storage tank 40, and air under pressure is supplied to the tank through the medium of a pump 4|. All of the inlet ports 3! in the lower block or anvil 9 are connected to a manifold pipe 42, and all of the ports 3l in the upper block or head -II are connected to a common manifold pipe 43. The manifolds 42 and 43 are connected to a common supply pipe 44 leading from a pressure tank 40, and a part of this pipe can include The sides of. the shanks 24 can be provided with grooves .for receiving a flexible hose section to allow desired movement of the upper block or head ll. Flow of air through the pipe 44 can be controlled by any preferred type of valve 45.

The exhaust ports 32 for the upper and lower blocks can be connected to manifold pipes 46,

and these manifold pipes, in turn, can be connected to a common outlet pipe 41. This pipe can be provided with a shut-off valve 48, and a part thereof canv include a flexible hose section to'allow desired movement of the upper block or head ll.

After the upper and lower grooves have been formed in the stone, and if the stone is not already split by this operation, the pneumatic means is cutoff, and the chisels are then forcibly urged into contact with the opposite faces of the stone by any desired means, which, for the purpose of illustration, can be considered as a hydraulic means in the present instance.

Thus, each bore has also mounted therein a hydraulically operated piston 34, and the extreme inner end of each bore has communicating therewith an inlet 35 for the liquid under pressure. Obviously, when the'liquid is admitted into the bores, the hydraulic pistons 34 will be forced towards the stone and urged into continuous'pressure with the chisels, which are, in turn, urged into continuous pressure with the stone. If the stone is relatively thin, or of a soft nature, the same will be split along the grooves. If, however, the stone is hard, then I provide additional means for splitting the stone, as will be described later.

All of the inlets 35 can communicate with a common source of liquid under pressure, and thus the same can be easily controlled simultaneously to all pistons.

For the purpose of illustration, I have shown the ports 35 in the lower block 9. connected to a common manifold pipe 50, and all of the ports 35 in the upper block II to a common manifold pipe 5!. The manifolds 50 and 5| are connected to a-common pipe 52, which leads to a supply pipe 53 and a return pipe 54. This pipe 52, at necessary points, can have incorporated therein flexible hose sections, as'shown, to allow the desired movement of the head or block II. The return pipe 54 leads to a storage tank 55 for fluid, and the supply pipe 53 leads froma pump 56 of any preferred character. The inlet of the pump is connected with the tank 55 by means of a pipe 57. The liquid is supplied under pressure from the pump 55 to the pipe 52, and a two-way valve 58 is provided for controlling the flow of fluid to the pipe 52. The valve can be turned so as to cut off the supply of fluid from the pump 56 to the pipe 52, and to connect the pipe 52 with the return pipe 54. This will relieve the pressure.

When all of the chisels are held firmly against the stone, and the same is ofsuch a nature that it will not split, then the drop-hammer I5 is released, and the same hitting the upper block I I will create a sharp sudden blow on the stone, and this will bring about the instant cracking of the stone along the grooves. As stated, the hammer can be operated in any preferred manner, or by any desired means.

With the employance of my device, the cracking of the .stone in different directions is prevented, in that the formation initially of the upper and lower grooves permits the stone to split along the lines of the grooves. The drag on the hydraulic cushioned pistons will prevent the stone from splitting in unintended directions. This action is comparable to the use of wooden or rubber mallets by stone carvers, as they have found that where split mallets or hammers are used the stone will break in unintended directions. Also, as chisels are used to make the grooves, the stone, when split, does not show any mechanical or sawed edges. Thus, the stone takes on the appearance of handtrimmed stone, which is desirable in most building structures.

In use of my improved device, the head or upper block II is raised, and the stone is slid between the blocks, after which the head or upper block II is released. The chisels are now reciprocated independently of each other, as heretofore described, and after the grooves have been made to the desired depth, the reciprocation or vibration of the chisels is stopped, and continuous pressure is then applied thereto. When the chisels are firmly held against the stone, the drop-hammer I5 is released so that the desired sudden heavy blow can be imparted to the stone.

When the pistons 34 are against the pistons 29 the same are returned to their normal positions by the releasing of hydraulic pressure against the pistons 34, and by admitting the compressed air to the cylinders the compressed air forces the hydraulically operated pistons 34 to the ends of their cylinders, and these pistons 34 are held by the air against the inner walls of the cylinders.

Any preferred means can be utilized for raising and lowering the head or upper block I l, and for the purpose of illustration the upper block has connected thereto a pull rope or cable 36, which is trained about an upper pulley 37. The cable can then lead to any desired mechanism, such as a winding drum or Windlass.

From the foregoing description it can be seen that I have provided a novel rock or stone splitting machine, in which all of the operating parts are self-contained; that is, the machine itself forms the grooves in the stone and then the stone is split. In other words, after the stone is placed between the anvil and head, the same is not removed until the splitting action takes place.

It is to be understood that I have only shown one form of my proposed machine, and that various changes can be made thereto, providing such changes are within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new is:

1. A stone cutting and splitting device comprising, an anvil, a head movable toward said anvil, the head and anvil being adapted to receive stone therebetween of variable thickness, means for forming a groove in the stone including a plurality of independently movable chisels carried by at least one of the mentioned members, means for vibrating the chisels, means independent of said vibration means for creating steady pressure on the chisels to hold the chisels against the stone when said vibration means is not employed, and means for imparting sudden cushioned shock to the head.

2. A machine for cutting and splitting stone comprising, a stationary anvil, a head movable toward and away from said anvil, the anvil and head being adapted to receive stone therebetween, a plurality of independently movable chisels carried by the anvil and head, means for vibrating the chisels against the stone, means for holding the chisels with pressure against said a stone when the means for vibrating the chisels is not in operation, and means for imparting a sudden blow to the stone including a weight mounted above the head.

3. A machine for cutting and splitting stone comprising, a stationary anvil, a head movable toward and away from said anvil, the anvil and head being adapted to receive stone therebetween, a plurality of independently movable chisels carried by the anvil and head, means for vibrating the chisels against the stone, means for holding the chisels with pressure against said stone when the means for vibrating the chisels is not in operation, means for imparting a sudden blow to the stone including a weight mounted above the head, and means for elevating the weight.

4. A machine for cutting and splitting stone comprising, a stationary anvil, a head movable toward and away from said anvil, the anvil and head being adapted to receive stone therebetween, a plurality of independently movable chisels carried by the anvil and head, means for vibrating the chisels against the stone, means for holding the chisels with pressure against said stone when the means for vibrating the chisels is not in operation, means for imparting a sudden blow to the stone including a weight mounted above the head, means for elevating the weight, and means for releasing the weight after the same has been elevated.

THOMAS SIDERITS. 

